Google removes all Tetris clones from Android Market

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As Android is an open platform with no checks required before an app goes live, it means anything and everything can be made available as an app. Although users and developers may prefer this method of deployment some rights holders clearly don’t.

The Tetris Company LLC. has issued DMCA notices against 35 Tetris clones which Google has now seen fit to remove from the Android Market. These games apparently don’t all use the Tetris name, but instead have similar gameplay to the original Tetris leading some to question why they are being removed.

Tetris block games exist on most platforms, but for some reason Android is being targeted in this instance. Is it the rapidly growing number of Android users that caught the attention of The Tetris Company? Or was Android an easy target?

Whatever the reason, there’s far fewer versions of the puzzle game to play on Android handsets today.

One of the affected developers has written on Slashdot about his app, called Falling Blocks, being removed. In the piece he argues that the takedown is wrong as gameplay cannot be copyrighted:

So, I checked online on various sources, and all of them say that there’s no copyright on gameplay. There could be some sort of patent. But besides not having a patent, which would last 20 years, so it would be over on 2005.

It’s in the interests of The Tetris Company to get all of these games taken down. In their eyes any clone is potentially a lost sale. So putting all clones on the list, regardless of the technicalities of the copyright they hold, is the only thing to do. If they get one or two wrong, then they can say sorry later so to speak.

Unfortunately this is one of the problems with having a Google or Apple overseeing a marketplace. Their reaction may not correspond to the right thing to do. For a small player like an individual developer this can be disasterous while Google feels no consequence and the rights holder has enough money to see off any complaints and/or defend itself.